"The
western part of the town is watered by Little Otter Creek, and the eastern
part by Pond Brook . . . Monkton Pond lies in the north part of the town,
and is about a mile in length and half a mile wide. A mountain called the
Hogback, extends along the eastern boundary of Monkton, and there are several
other considerable elevations . . . Monkton was settled in 1774 by John
and Ebenezer Stearns, Barnabas Burnham and John Bishop. They left
during the war, but returned in 1784.

Gazetteer
of Vermont, Hayward, 1849.

HISTORY
OF THE TOWN OF MONKTON

Monkton, situated in the northern part of Addison county, is bounded
north by Hinesburg in Chittenden county; east by Starksboro; south by Bristol
and New Haven, and west by Ferrisburgh. The surface is very mountainous,
tile principal elevation being Hogback Mountain, which extends across nearly
the whole eastern portion of the town from north to south. The western
part of the town is drained by Little Otter Creek (and its tributaries),
as it flows northwest through Ferrisburgh into the lake. The principal
stream in the eastern part is Pond Brook, which rises in Bristol Pond,
in the north part of Bristol, and flows north into Hinesburg. The scenery
of the town is varied and Picturesque, while the hills and mountains are
filled with innumerable natural curiosities, among which is a huge cavern
in the northwest part of the town. The orifice which forms the entrance
is at the bottom of a chasm in the rocks on a side hill. It contains two
apartments, one of which is about thirty feet length by sixteen wide.

Monkton was chartered by Governor Benning WENTWORTH on the 24th
of June, 1762, and contained an area Of 24,000 acres, divided into seventy
shares.

According to tradition, John BISHOP was the first settler in town.
His farm was on the Ridge, upon which he undoubtedly located with the idea,
so prevalent in those days, that the heights were better than the valleys
for the habitations of men. He came in 1774. The same year witnessed the
arrival of Barnabas BARNUM, whose followers of the same name originated
"Barnumtown," and John and Ebenezer STEARNS, who lived in the north part
of the town, just south of the Hinesburg line. The settlement was broken
up and dispersed by the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and all attempts
to clear the forests and cultivate the fields were replaced by endeavors
to stem the approaching tide of British tyranny and misrule, and repel
the arrogant invaders. Between the close of the war and the year 1787,
however, we find that the following settlers took up lands in Monkton,
and, by taking the freeman's oath, evinced a determination to remain.

John FERGUSON settled in that portion of the original town of Monkton
which was afterward set off to Starksboro. At an early day he represented
the town in the Legislature. He has descendants now living in Starksboro.
Others who lived in this neighborhood were the following: Richard and Samuel
BARNUM; Stephen HAIGHT, who settled on the place now occupied by Norman
FINNEY. He was for many years a leading member of the Legislature, a sheriff,
and a judge of the County Court. He died on the 12th of January, 1841,
at Washington, D. C., aged fifty-eight years, while holding the office
of sergeant-at-arms in the Senate of the United States. The body thereupon
voted an appropriation to pay the expenses of carrying his remains to Burlington
for burial. Samuel BARNUM was for a number of years a justice of the peace,
and a member of the Legislature. He died in Vergennes at the residence
of his son, General A. W. BARNUM. Abijah BARNUM also settled originally
at Barnumtown, but was of a locomotive disposition; also Jesse, Theron,
and Moses BARNUM. James TOBIAS, a Quaker, married a sister of Amos BARNUM's
wife. Johnson FINNEY located on the place on which Norman FINNEY, his son,
now lives. Frederick CARTER lived a little toward Vergennes from Barnumtown.
Isaiah SANFORD lived in Barnumtown. William GARRET carried on a store a
little way south of Barnumtown. Miles BATES lived a short time in Barnumtown
and removed to the Borough.

Among the other early settlers may be mentioned Daniel SMITH, grandfather
of Daniel LADD, who settled on the farm one mile north of the Borough,
now owned by the estate of Lucius SMITH. He was a gifted counsel, and was
for several years a representative of the town in the Legislature. He died
in 1812. Silas HARDY located a little south of Ebenezer STEARNS, and about
one and a half miles north of the Borough. David FERRISS settled about
one mile west of the Borough on the place now owned by Mrs. WARD, of Charlotte.
He removed many years ago to Ohio. Aurey CRONKHITE lived and died near
the Starksboro line. Frederick SMITH was an early settler on the place
in the Borough, now occupied by Carlton DEAN. Leonard HAIGHT lived toward
the Bristol line. Jesse Lyman, son of David FERRISS, was for several years
a resident of Monkton, and afterward of Vergennes. He was a major of militia,
and an able officer under General Strong at the battle of Plattsburgh.

Buel HITCHCOCK, the first physician in town, lived in the vicinity
of the Ridge. He built the first grist-mill in town, and after living here
some years removed to St. Lawrence county, N. Y. Noble SAXTON settled in
the Borough. Hezekiah SMITH, brother to Daniel, located in the Borough
on the site now occupied by Harvey POTTER. Thomas SMITH, a distant relative
of Daniel SMITH, married the latter's sister and settled in East Monkton,
on the place now occupied by Leonard MEECH. Nathaniel DEAN was grandfather
of Thaddeus DEAN, who now resides in town. Enos KNAPP lived toward Starksboro,
about half a mile east of the Ridge. Paul ATWOOD came to Monkton from Bennington
in 1790, and died here at the age of ninety-two years. His son, Levi E.
ATWOOD, in 1803 or 1804, then a boy of twelve years, while on his way to
the mill in Starksboro broke a willow switch, and on his return home stuck
it in the -round, where it now stands a gigantic tree. Cyrus W. ATWOOD,
of Starksboro, is a son of Levi. Daniel COLLINS, jr., lived in the second
house South of where Daniel LADD now lives. He was for many years a deputy
sheriff, judge of the County Court, and has been a representative in the
Legislature.

Joseph WILLOUGHBY was an early settler east of the Ridge, on the
place now owned by Mrs. Willoughby SMITH. Sylvanus SMITH, brother of Thomas,
lived on the place now owned by Casper DEAN. Swift CHAMBERLAIN settled
about a mile northwest of the Borough, on the place now owned by Henry
BALDWIN. Martin LAWRENCE lived in the Borough in the house now owned by
Daniel LADD, opposite his residence. Mr. LAWRENCE built this house. Elijah
BRANCH was an early settler in the Ridge district, on the place where the
widow of George COLLINS now lives. Robinson MUMFORD, from Bennington, settled
in 1791, north of the Ridge, on the place now occupied by Ira DAY, who
married a daughter of Josiah MUMFORD, Robinson's son. Robinson MUMFORD
held for many years the office of justice of the peace, and was a leading
member of the Baptist Church. An old elm still standing on the homestead
is said to be the largest and most symmetrical elm in the county. It measures
twenty-three feet in circumference, is one hundred and eight years old,
and shades an area nearly a quarter of an acre. Moses PINGREE lived in
the Borough on the present site of the Methodist parsonage. Adolph LATTIN
settled east of the Borough, under the mountain. Samuel WEBB established
himself on the place now owned by Ashbel DEAN, west of the Borough. He
was a carpenter by trade, and came to Monkton as early as 1790. He died
November 19, 1838, aged seventy-one years. His son Daniel still resides
in town at the age of eighty-seven years, with his wife, Sophia (CONGER),
who is eighty-five, and has passed the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding.
Daniel WEBB was town treasurer of Monkton for thirty consecutive years.
Daniel SMITH came to Monkton in 1780, from Bennington, and settled on the
farm now owned by the widow of L. E. SMITH. The several members of his
family have figured among the most prominent men of the town. He was a
councilor, and for twelve years town representative. He had seven children.
Luman B. became a prominent lawyer in Monkton; Lucius E. was first chosen
to the Legislature in 1858-59, and afterward served eight terms, and in
1866-67 was elected State senator. Nicholas HOLMES, from Nine Partners,
N. Y., came to Monkton in 1787, and settled on the place now occupied by
H. R. BALDWIN. He was a member of the Society of Friends. He had a family
of eight children. Jonathan, his son, and afterward Andrew, his grandson,
succeeded to the estate. Beers STILSON, from New Milford, Conn., came here
in 1783, and soon after located where his son and grandsons now live. He
married Eunice DODGE, and had a family of four sons and one daughter, of
whom Alpheus, of Monkton, and Leman, of Lincoln, are the only ones now
living. Solomon BARTON came to this town from New York in 1785, and selected
for his home the place now occupied by A. J. CUSHMAN. His second son, Moses,
built the house now occupied by H. JEWELL, in 1812. Mrs. JEWELL is a daughter
of Moses. Ashbel DEAN, with his brother Benjamin, came to Monkton soon
after the close of the Revolutionary War, in which he had served six years.
He located on the old stage road near Barnumtown. He was at the battle
of Eutaw Springs, Yorktown, and other engagements. He married a daughter
of Jehiel BARNUM, and had a family of nine children. The house now occupied
by T. N. DEAN was built by Captain Lemuel KENDRICK, and is the oldest in
the village. Eleazer FINNEY came here from New Milford, Conn., in 1785,
and settled on the farm now owned by his great-grandson, H. J. FINNEY,
which has ever remained in the family. Eleazer held the office of justice
of the peace for nearly fifty years, and at different periods held various
other town offices. Being given to the composition of poetry, he won the
title of "Monkton's Bard." He died on February 28, 1859, aged eighty-four
years. Daniel COLLINS, father of Daniel, jr., before mentioned, came from
New Milford, Conn., in 1789, and died here on August 22, 1844. He had four
sons, Nathan, David, Edmund, and Daniel, and one daughter, Phebe. Hezekiah
SMITH came here from Bennington in 1780, in company with three brothers,
Daniel, Champion, and Samuel. He was by trade a shoemaker, but after coming
here he kept a tavern at the Borough. His eldest son, Horatio A., was a
physician of Monkton. Ebenezer BARNUM, from Litchfield, Conn., came to
this town in 1786. His son, John BARNUM, was then five years of age. John
afterward married Abbie DEAN, with whom he passed a married life of sixty-six
years. He was a prominent man in town, and took an active part in the War
of 1812. He died in 1878, aged ninety-eight years. Josiah FULLER, from
Bennington, reached Monkton in 1788, and settled on a farm now owned by
Ethan LAWRENCE. He had ten children, of whom the eldest, Sylvanus, went
to the battle of Plattsburgh, and was never after heard from. Milton, the
only son who remained in town, became a prominent citizen, and died here
at the age of seventy-seven years on the farm now owned by his son Jonas.
Stephen FULLER lived where Daniel MEADER now resides. David FULLER is his
son. Joseph WILLOUGHBY, the second representative of the town, built about
1781 the house in which the widow of his grandson, D. W. SMITH, now lives.
Josiah LAWRENCE, a native of Norwich, Conn., a soldier of the Revolution,
reached Monkton some time before 1790, and settled at the north end of
Hogback Mountain, where he died in 1835. His grandson, Daniel LAWRENCE,
now occupies the old homestead. Eliakim BEERS located in 1790 on the farm
now occupied by his grandson, L. E. BEERS. He died in 1870, aged ninety-five
years.

David ROSCOE came from Connecticut in 1795, and settled in Barnumtown,
where he owned three hundred acres of land -- the place now occupied by
P. PARENTS. Dan STONE, a graduate from Williams College, came to Monkton
from Connecticut in 1795, and engaging in the practice of medicine, became
one of the most prominent physicians in this region. Of his three sons,
Dan and George became physicians, engaged in practice here and in Vergennes,
and in 1857 the age of fifty went to Illinois. Charles remained in town
until he reached the age of fifty-three years, when, in 1857, he died.
His son, Charles H. STONE, now lives on the old "Dart farm." Nathan G.
BALDWIN, from New Milford, Conn., came to Monkton in 1793, settling on
the farm now owned by S. MILES, and erecting a log house. He had a family
of five sons; two of them, Albert N. and Jay N., now live on the home farm.
Two others, Henry R. and E. D., are still residents of the town. George
DART, also from New Milford, came to Monkton in 1789 and bought one hundred
acres of land of David FERRIS, to pay for which he returned to Connecticut
and made one hundred axes, valued at twenty pounds, and delivered them
to Ferris. The farm is now owned by Charles H. STONE. John THOMAS, from
Connecticut, settled in the town in 1796, and died here in 1799, leaving
a wife and nine children. His widow married Dr. Dan STONE in 1800.

Nathan WILLIAMS, born in 1772, came to Monkton very early, and married
Lois, daughter of Isaac STEARNS. At the time of his death he owned the
farm now occupied by L. E. BEERS. He had six children, three of whom remained
in town. Thomas TRACEY, from Manchester, N. H., came to Monkton in 1790,
and settled on the farm now owned by John WHITE. Stephen BALLOU came to
Monkton in 1803, and engaged in the business of a tanner and manufacturer.
The tannery which now stands in the rear of GEE's blacksmith shop was erected
by him. His son Phillip C., born here on July 23, 1806, studied medicine
with Horatio SMITH, of New Haven, and settled in Monkton, where he carried
on an extensive practice for more than forty years. Ira LADD came from
Pittsford, Vt., in 1805, and opened a general store at Barnumtown, and
was many years a justice of the peace. Leonard DEMING, father of Mrs. Ladd,
was a native of Addison county, and in early life a blacksmith. He was
afterward the author of Deming's Vermont Officers and a collection of legal
cases entitled Remarkable Events. Calvin WHEATON came from Dutchess county,
N. Y., in 1802, and settled in the valley of Pond Brook. He was a clothier
by trade, and worked in a cloth factory below Barnumtown. He died in 1853,
aged eighty-four years. James COX, from Long Island, N. Y., came here in
1811 and settled on a farm about half a mile south of where William J.
COX now resides. He was the first tailor in town. John FRENCH, a blacksmith,
located in Monkton about 1800, and worked many years for Captain Lemuel
KENDRICK. He married Hannah SMITH and had a family of five children, of
whom two are living: Matthew O., in Monkton, and John W., in Iowa. Mr.
FRENCH died in 1852, and his wife in 1869. H. B. WILLIAMS has a large and
valuable collection of Indian relics, which were found on a bluff on his
farm near Bristol Pond, where it is supposed a favorite camping-ground
of the Indians was located. Near by is a burial place of theirs, where
many bones have been disinterred, and one complete skeleton found. The
place was discovered by workmen who were engaged in digging gravel for
a dam, and bones were found so numerous that the men were obliged to desist
from their labor and procure gravel elsewhere.

Other early settlers were David ROBARTS, Lemuel HARDY, John BROCK,
Elijah BISHOP, William KELLOGG, Benjamin HAIGHT, James BROCK, Zenas WHITE,
John GILSON, Captain Daniel HERRICK, Warren BARLOW, James DEAN, Abel PARKER,
Isaac KNAPP, Rufus FINNEY, Ephraim PAGE, Calvin HILL, Isaac HILL, Alexander
DURAND, Nathaniel FISK, Ezekiel HODGES, Daniel HODGES, George DUEL, John
ATKIN, John DOWNING, Tilley WELLER, Henry HADDOCK, John BURLING, [Undoubtedly
a member of that numerous family of Burlings from which the principal city
in the State derived its name.] Partridge THATCHER.

TOWN
ORGANIZATION

The first town meeting was held at the house of Richard BARNUM on
the 28th of March, 1786, and the following, officers were elected: Horace
HERVEY, moderator; Samuel BARNUM, town clerk ; John BISHOP, jr., John FERGUSON,
Samuel BARNUM, selectmen; Frederick SMITH, town treasurer; John ALLEN,
constable; Stephen FULLER, Horace HERVEY, Richard BARNUM, listers; Daniel
SMITH, grand juror, and brander of horses; Elijah BISHOP, and Silas HARDY,
hog haywards.

At a meeting held on the 20th of October, 1786, it is ascertained
that one highway had been laid out according to a vote of the proprietors
of Monkton, from the north line to the south, and four rods wide; and another
from the Ferrisburgh road on the west line of the town to the north line
of the town, same width.

On the 24th of October, 1786, a highway was laid out from south
to north, beginning within "lot No. 7 of the first division, and intersecting
the north line opposite No. 116.

On the 12th of May, 1787, a highway was laid out from the Hinesburg
road north and south from Mr. FULLER's by Esquire BARBER's to John BISHOP's.

At another meeting held on the 3d of November, 1787, at the house
of Frederick SMITH, it was voted to divide the town into two districts
"for purposes of schooling," and that the south district extend as far
north as John BROCK's, on the west side of Mill Brook, and the north district
as far south as Frederick SMITH's," on the east side of Mill Brook.

EARLY
BUSINESS

The streams in Monkton affording few good mill advantages, the early,
as well as the present inhabitants, devoted their time chiefly to agricultural
pursuits. The first grist-mill mentioned in the records was owned and operated
by Ebenezer STEARNS. Another early grist-mill was run by Mr. SHATTUCK in
the same neighborhood in which his son Charles now lives. He also ran a
saw-mill. Johnson FINNEY ran about the first saw-mill in town, on the place
in Barnumtown now owned by Norman FINNEY. Stodard HARRIS, and later his
son George, operated a large tannery in the Borough, which Stephen BALLOU
erected. The building now stands at the rear of Edward GEE's blacksmith
shop. Silas HARDY also ran one for a time in the north part of the town.

Among the early merchants was Clark SMITH, who kept a store in the
Borough just south of DEAN's present store. Zachariah BECKWITH was some
time in company with SMITH and then went to Middlebury, where his son Smith
BECKWITH now lives.

The first tavern was erected during the Revolution by Mr. BARNUM,
and still stands in a modernized dress, now owned and occupied by Ashbel
DEAN. Near it, where the Methodist Church stands, was a whipping-post and
pillory. It is related that one CARLY, a Quaker, was condemned to stand
for hours in the pillory as a penalty for getting in hay on the Sabbath,
and that he was cheered in his punishment by his wife, who brought her
knitting and sat on a stone near by. Another early tavern was kept north
of the Borough, where Harvey POTTER now lives, by Hezekiah SMITH. He died
in 1813 of the epidemic. William NILES then married his widow, who was
a WILLOUGHBY, and kept the house for some years. Luman V. SMITH kept a
tavern in the Borough, in the house now occupied by F. H. DEAN. Chauncey
HUTCHINS succeeded SMITH, and was followed by L. C. KEELER. The hotel in
the village, now kept by M. F. MUZZEY, was built (the main part) by William
KINGSLEY, as many as fifty-five years ago, for a private house. He also
built the store building now occupied by F. H. DEAN. About 1845 James MINER
converted this private house into a tavern, and employed L. C. KEELER to
manage it. Since then the most prominent landlords have been Reuben WICKWARE,
Daniel ISHAM, George TOBEY, Platt GAGE, and Elmer COLLINS. Lewis OSIER,
who was here about six years, immediately preceded the present proprietor.
Mr. MUZZEY opened the house on the 24th of April, 1885.

PRESENT
BUSINESS

The only saw-mill now in operation in Monkton is in the northeast
part of the town, operated by C. NASH, who built up an old dismantled mill
about a year ago. He runs a small provender mill there too. The Kaolin
Works have been under the management of B. F. GOSS, of Vergennes, since
1864; first as B. F. GOSS, then GOSS & TALBOTT, and finally, as it
still remains, GOSS & GLEASON (C. J. GLEASON, of Montpelier, being
the partner). The works employ thirteen men, with an average product of
1,500 tons per annum. The kaolin is used principally as a "filling " in
the manufacture of paper. A large proportion of their product is sold in
New York. The store building now occupied by F. H. DEAN at the village
was erected, as we have just seen, by William KINGSLEY. Mr. DEAN has traded
here since January, 1879, succeeding H. O. SMITH, who had been here for
over twenty years. His father, Timothy SMITH, preceded him for many years.
H. W. CLIFFORD has kept a store at the Ridge for about a year.

PHYSICIANS

There is but one physician now in practice in town. Dr. O. L. NIMBLET
was born on the 16th of January, 1832, in Monkton, on the place still occupied
by his mother, Althea (WILLIAMS) NIMBLET. He studied medicine with Dr.
P. C. BALLOU, then of Monkton (who died October 1, 1884), after which he
attended the medical department of Dartmouth College. He was afterward
graduated from the University of Vermont, at Burlington, on the 5th of
June, 1854. He came here at once to practice. In August, 1853, he married
Sarah V. MASON, of Starksboro. He is now living with his second wife, formerly
Mrs. E. C. WELLER, of Monkton, whom he married on the 2d of January, 1886.
His father, Hosea NIMBLET, came to Monkton not long after 1820, and after
working out a while by the month, located on the place now occupied by
his widow. Hosea NIMBLET died on the 8th of August, 1879, aged seventy-nine
years and three months.

POST-OFFICES

One of the earliest postmasters in the village, or Borough, as we
have been calling it, was Edmund COLLINS, who had the office a number of
years. Charles DEAN also had the office many years. Daniel DEAN, T. C.
SMITH, Ira LADD, and Harrison SMITH brought the office down to 1879, when
the present incumbent, F. H. DEAN, was appointed. The first postmaster
at Monkton Ridge was Dr. Philip C. BALLOU, who held the office a few years,
until his death in 1884. Fred SKIFF followed him, but under the present
administration gave place to Arthur BIDWELL, who holds it now.

MILITARY

At the outbreak of the Revolution John BISHOP, with several sons,
and Ebenezer STEARNS, were captured by Tories and Indians and taken to
Canada, and the settlement was broken up till after the war. Tradition
says BISHOP had some wheat-stacks to which the Indians were about to set
fire, when Mrs. BISHOP, knowing them to be her main dependence, appeared
with hot water, which she threw so vigorously that the Indians, admiring
her courage, spared the stacks. Bishop and his sons were again returned
to their homes.

Bishop was noted for his eccentricities; for instance, when any
one came to the marsh, near where he lived, to pick cranberries, he always
demanded a portion, for the reason that he brought the seed with him from
New Milford. He also demanded a share of all the fish in an adjacent pond,
as he had brought the original stock from the same place, in a leather
bag, supplying fresh water from time to time, on his way. Barnabas Barnum
met with a more tragic fate. On the alarm being given at the siege of Shelburne
block-house, he repaired, with others, to the scene of action, and fell
in the bloody skirmish of March 12, 1778.

Monkton, in common with the other towns in this part of the State,
took vigorous and active measures to repel the invaders of the War of 1812,
and it is not a pleasant reflection that the time has passed when the names
and deeds of her heroes in that struggle could be inscribed on the pages
of history. The great Rebellion, however, is too recent in the memory of
men now living to admit of omission. The names of those who went from Monkton
to this war in Vermont regiments are as follows:

Volunteers for three years credited previous to call for 300,000
volunteers of October 17, 1863:

Population Statistics.--The population of this town has varied since
the taking of the first census in 1791, as follows: 1791, 450; 1800, 880;
1810, 1,248; 1820, 1,152; 1830, 1,384; 1840, 1,310; 1850, 1,246; 1860,
1,123; 1870, 1,006; 1880, 1022.

ECCLESIASTICAL

The first church organized in town was the Calvinistic Baptist,
formed July 24, 1794, with a membership of twelve. The society, though
limited in numbers, still holds regular services, Rev. Ira KELLOGG acting
as pastor, and Albert BALDWIN as Sabbath-school superintendent.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1797 by Joseph MITCHELL,
the first pastor. There being no convenient center in the town, the society
has three different places of worship: at the church in East Monkton, the
town house at Monkton Ridge, and the church in Barnumtown, one service
being held at each place on alternate Sabbaths, served by one pastor, Rev.
Delano PERRY. The first church at Barnumtown, was erected in 1811, and
rebuilt in 1854. Its original cost was $1,250, and now with seating capacity
for two hundred and fifty persons, is valued at $4,500. The building at
East Monkton, erected in 1867, will accommodate two hundred and fifty persons,
cost $2,000, and is now valued, including grounds, at $2,500. The society
is at present in a prosperous state, with many members.

The Friends' Society, located at Monkton Ridge, was organized by
Joseph HOAG in 1798, he also acting as their first minister. Their first
building was erected about the year 1800. The present house will seat two
hundred and fifty persons, and was erected in 1878, at a cost of $1,200.
It is now valued, including grounds, at $2,400. The society has about eighty
members, with W. L. DEAN, Fred SKIFF, and Samuel MILES, elders.

Chapter
XXVI, pages 513-522.History
of the Town of Monkton."History
of Addison County, Vermont, With Illustrations
And Biographical Sketchesof Some
Of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers." Edited
by H. P. Smith. Syracuse, N. Y.;D. Mason
& Co., Publishers, 1886.